Summer Creative Writing Contest 2020: ‘A Boy’s Wish’

By LEO WOLFBERG | Contributing Writer

The Palisadian-Post is running a selection of winning pieces from the 2020 Pacific Palisades Library Association’s Summer Creative Writing Contest, which featured the theme “Surprise Us!” The following piece was penned by Leo Wolfberg, who was awarded first place in the Scribblers category (grades one and two).

2020 was the year of Coronavirus. People really suffered by getting sick and losing their jobs. There was a boy named Jeff. He really wanted his normal life back where he could play with his friends, go to their houses and go to school to learn. He was also worried that his mom and dad would lose their jobs and they would be poor. Every night before he went to bed he prayed that Coronavirus would be over.

Jeff always thought about his normal life. He cried inside because he wanted his life back. He wondered what the future would be like and he wanted it to be better. He kept thinking about the good thoughts, not the bad thoughts.

One day, when Jeff went for a jog in the forest close by to his house, he found a large tree that looked different than any other tree that he had seen. He walked up closer and saw a golden wand hanging in the tree. When he reached for it he saw a note attached to the wand. The note said “Use this wand for something important. Say your wish to the wand and it will come true.”

At first, he thought he wanted a car. He thought of all amazing features the car would have—a pool, a little movie theater and all sorts of cool stuff.

But then he realized he wanted Coronavirus to be over so everyone could get back to normal. So he said to the wand, “I want Coronavirus to be over.” Then the wand said, “Come to this tree tomorrow. You’ll see what will happen to the world.”

Jeff came home and didn’t say anything to his parents because he wanted his wish to be a surprise. He also didn’t know if it would come true. When he went to sleep he was so happy because he hoped it would come true.

The next morning Jeff went back to the tree again. He saw another note. It said, “Your wish will be granted in 32 minutes.” Then he climbed a tree and waited. Then he checked on the wand and it said “2 minutes left.” All of a sudden, there was an explosion! He thought the wand exploded in the forest. He ran home to tell his parents. When he got home his mom shouted, “Jeff! Great news–Coronavirus is over. You can go back to school!”

Jeff was so excited to go back to school to see his friends, play sports and not be afraid. He did a little happy dance and didn’t tell his parents his secret that he was the reason Coronavirus was over.